"It's the hap-happiest season of all!"

Christmas time is by far my favorite time of year. I am so excited to begin the Christmas celebrations and festivities. Today marks the beginning of my "Christmas break." (This is my first year out of school and not having a whole month off...I will survive. I will survive. I will survive.) I get five whole days to spend singing carols, wrapping gifts, drinking cocoa and wearing Christmas socks. I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I'm giddy just thinking about it. We've watched most of our Christmas movies, but still have a few more to catch up on. We annually watch: White Christmas, Holiday Inn, Miracle on 34th Street (the original), ELF, The Grinch, Charlie Brown Christmas and the Polar Express. That's about our only tradition. Maybe someday we'll have more or different traditions but, who knows?  Does your family have any good traditions?

Merry (almost) Christmas!!

A Work in Progress

HGTV really tricked me. I thought that within thirty minutes we would buy our house, renovate it and show it off to friends and family. Apparently, that is what defines "TV Magic." This kitchen/living room revamp/renovation will certainly be a work in progress. We have "the wall" out, finished and now painted, but we still have a list three miles long to complete before it's done. The floors are next, hopefully followed by the counter tops, an actual pantry, back splash, new appliances and some day (most likely far far away) an island. Who knows when any of this will get done, but at least "the wall" is gone!! I can't express to you how much I disliked that wall...so, without further ado, a finished (ish) living room and kitchen area.

Behr: Anonymous (grey) Paint.
Alex spent the better part of two days priming and painting.  He's great!

View from the kitchen. Don't mind the clutter, we're still trying to remember where things are or belong.

Moose is tired from all the hard work. He's slowly getting used to his new home. 

Thirty Thursday's {17}

Merry (almost) Christmas! 
This week's topic:  What is the thing you most wish you were great at?


Abby:


I wish I were great at baking. I like to bake and I'm not too bad but, I'm not great. I would love to have a bakery, but I don't think I would get very far. I wish I could just whip recipes up from scratch and make great tasty cookies and cupcakes...maybe someday.

Alex: 
I wish I were great at being a handyman. After buying our house, I've discovered that I can't do as much as I thought I could. Hopefully I'll continue getting better.

Renovation day 4, 5, 6......

The wall is out and finished beautifully! It was completed in four days, just like we expected and we couldn't be happier with the result!! Alex has spent the past few days priming and painting. I'll post all sorts of fantastic photos after its complete. I will give you a bit of a clue as to the new wall color: Anonymous by Behr. So, if you're really eager to the color you can Google it. Have a great evening an hopefully by tomorrow you will see out hard work!

Scrabble

With our phones and tablets, it seems that the good old fashioned board games are going by the wayside. So, in order to have some tv-less fun, we whipped out the Scrabble board and had some good word wars. With the holiday season among us, I feel it important to put away our electronics and spend quality time with our loved ones. I encourage you to play a board game or do whatever it is that you do with your family and friends to make lasting memories!

Alex would like me to add that I wrote this on my phone while playing Scrabble...at least I'm trying. Right?


--I would like to add that I won with a score of 318 to Alex's measly 185. He claims that he had poor luck at drawing letters from the bag. I think he's bitter that he's not the wordsmith that I am. : )

Renovation Day 3

Day three has come and gone, very quickly and full of progress. A vent was moved, walls were spackled, (I have no idea what it is that they did, so this is my very uneducated guess...it was white and putty-like) and a lot of other exciting things happened. :) Construction isn't really my forte, so I will leave it all to the pro's at Stuehlmeyer Renovations. Without further ado, here are some pictures of today's progress.

Day three: Kitchen

Day three: Living

Day three: Pantry

They will be back on Monday to put some finishing touches and then the hard part: painting, flooring, new counter tops, new appliances...this list could get quite long. Luckily, we're not planning on moving any time soon and have time to complete the list. I'll keep you posted as paint goes up, floors go down, etc... 

Have a fantastic weekend!

Things that make me laugh...Christmas Edition

With Christmas just around the corner, I thought a little laughter could easy some holiday stress...

Bad Holiday Photos via Ellen
Click on the link to see more bad pictures

Elf on the Shelf...

What's wrong with this picture?! Via Ellen
Click on the link to see some silly pictures.

Cat Photo Bomb...find the Kitty

Renovation Day 2

Day two continued our exciting reno progress! We have no studs (except for Alex) and have a clear idea (and view) of what our wall, or lack there of, will look like.  Everything is coming along great! Check out Stuehlmeyer Renovations to see what they could do for you.

View from the living room

View from the kitchen.

The doorway has been enclosed and will soon house our pantry! 

Thirty Thursday's {16}

Are you a morning person or a night person? Elaborate

Abby:
I'm definitely a night person. I would rather stay up late working on whatever it is I'm working on than wake up early in the morning. I, like my Grandma, could, would and occasionally do sit in my robe for hours in the morning waking up. Don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily  like staying up late, but I'd rather stay up than wake up. 

Alex: 
I am a morning person. I have a good morning routine. I wake up, walk Moose, drink my coffee, get ready for work and go to work. I take comfort in my routine. On the day's where Abby is up early too, everything gets a thrown off and then I'm crabby at Abby....

Demo Day 1

When we bought our house we had ideas of tearing down the wall the separated the kitchen and living room. After eating in it with more than just the two of us, we realized that it would be much more enjoyable with the wall removed. So, we began the search for a contractor. On Facebook I stumbled across one of my friend's pages and it said their "location" was Glen Carbon (if you're not familiar with the area, Glen Carbon and Edwardsville are indistinguishable) AND her husband has a contracting/renovation business. Our search was quickly over. We called him up, had him come over and give us an estimate and it was within our budget! So here we are, beginning renovations! Check out Stuehlmeyer Renovations to see all the good stuff they can do!

Before

After Day 1: the wall is (almost) gone! View from the living room. 

After Day 1: The wall is (almost) gone! View from the kitchen. 

I'll do my best to keep you posted on the changes! 

Thirty Thursday's {15}

We're half way through this blog series, this week the topic is: If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

Abby: 
I would be a puppy. Almost everyone loves puppies, they're so cute and cuddley  I'd (hopefully) be adopted, loved and treated as well as we treat Moose. 

Alex: 
I would be a sea turtle. Because, in finding Nemo they were really cool. I don't know the food chain well enough to know what eats a sea turtle, but they don't seem too appealing or tasty to me. 

Installation Station

I am not high maintenance, but I'm not low maintenance either. Our new bathroom is not palatial but it suits our needs. However, our 18 inch wide, no drawer, one door, blah bathroom vanity was not doing it for me...there was an inch on each side of the sink basin for "counter space." So, an upgrade was on my mind.
As Alex and I strolled the isles of Home Depot I spotted a vanity that wasn't out of our budget, it would fit the space and it had drawers- not one drawer, but three! Alex, being the fantastic man that he is, said we should get it and install it while his parents were visiting. So, without hesitation, we bought it and hauled it home.
After a few hours of removing, assembling, plumbing and 2 trips back to the Depot, we have a gorgeous new vanity. I can't even begin to express my gratitude for Alex's brother, dad and mom's hard work. Thank you Greg, Eric and Sue (and Alex too)!!

Our new vanity! I didn't take a good picture of the old one, so you'll have to take my word for it...

Sunday was a busy day, not only do we have a new vanity but, we also have a new microwave!! It too was a family event! It was an early Christmas present from my mom and dad and Alex, his grandpa, brother and dad installed it for us! There was only one trip back to the store for it's installation. :) Home Depot is going to know us by name. Four trips in one day...good thing it's close by!

We've Moved!!

Alex and I are now homeowners!! We've purchased a 1946 ranch-elow. It's a cross between a ranch and a bungalow. It's cute, charming and we love it! It needs a few updates and changes, but nothing that we're not excited to tackle! We moved on Friday and my parents came to help us. They did so much and we really appreciate them working so hard. Becky also came down to surprise us with Ethan and Nora! They were a lot of help and good entertainment. Ethan helped remove the movers plastic wrap from the furniture and even carried a box or two! Moose loves his new yard and slowly getting to know his way around the house. He's been pretty nervous because of the changes but he's starting to settle out and be the same little Moose he's always been. I'm working on change of address/Christmas cards, so hopefully you'll know our new address soon!

Thirty Thursday's {14}

Week #14: Your house is on fire. What five items do you grab before you leave?

Abby:
If our house were on fire, I'd make sure Alex was able to escape on his own and then I'd grab:
1. Moose
2. Phones and iPad
3. Our external hard drive with all of our pictures and documents on it.
4. Our important documents. ie: passports, social security cards, marriage license, etc.
5. Shoes to wear outside

Alex:
1. Abby
2. Moose
3. Phone
4. Shoes
5. Wallet

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has come and gone and I took zero pictures. I guess we were too busy having fun! We headed to our hometown to celebrate with both of our families. We started Thursday with Alex's family in the morning at his Grandma's and ended with mine in the evening at Linda's. Everything was delicious. We had turkey, ham, soup and every side that is known to man! It was a great few days away from reality eating and getting to catch up with and see our families.

If you have Facebook, you may have noticed that throughout November, people have been posting what they're thankful for. I didn't join in on that fun, so I'm going to, ever so briefly, express my thanks here:

I'm thankful for my fantastic husband, Alex. He is kind and patient, funny, loving and he always knows what I need, what I cannot do and when I need help. He's not a saint, but he's close.

I'm thankful for my parents and my in-laws. They are all very supportive of Alex and I and love us unconditionally.

I'm thankful for my sister Becky, she's my best friend and I love her and her kids to bits and pieces.

I'm thankful for my brother Jim, who is currently deployed serving our country and protecting our freedom. He's my American Hero.

I'm thankful for Moose and for sunshiny days. I'm thankful for the holiday season, Michael Bublé's Christmas album, Holiday Inn (the movie, not the hotel chain), I'm thankful for a cozy warm house and bed. I'm thankful for just about everything. This list could honestly go on and on. But, I'm mostly thankful for God and his unconditional, abundant love, grace and forgiveness.

Durning the holiday season we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of gifts, parties, decorating and deals at the store. But, the reason we all have things to be thankful for is because we have all been richly blessed by God.

What are you thankful for?

Thirty Thursday's {13}

If you could have any single superpower what would it be and why?

Abby:
Flying is the ultimate superpower! I would be the fastest flying super hero ever! But, I wouldn't have a cape.

Alex: 
I would be super fast! I would be faster than The Flash or Dash.

Thirty Thursday's {12}

Week 12's topic: If you could wake up tomorrow and do whatever you wanted to do, what would you do and why?

Abby:
I would go on vacation, because I love vacation, who doesn't? I would take Alex and we would go to Fiji, swim, relax and explore!

Alex: 
I would pack our bags and we would go to the beach and do absolutely nothing but relax. 

Bond

Alex and I are movie people. It's something we enjoy doing. We like watching movies at home and at the theater. But, lately we haven't gotten to go to the theater as much as we'd like. After much excitement and Fandango-ing, yesterday we went to see the new James Bond movie. It was very good and I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen.

As we sat in the theater watching the previews for the previews, we were talking about how there is no generation gap with the Bond films. We took a quick scan around the filling theater to find viewers of all ages. There were kids, parents, young people and old people all eagerly awaiting the next installment in the Bond series. There are very few modern movies that can bring so many generations together with all the excitement that 007 does. It's nice to know that there are still things that bring a common Bond between so many different people of different ages.

Thirty Thursday's {11}

Week 11: Describe two pet peeves you have and why.

Abby:
My current pet peeves-
1. Lights being left on. I don't know when I became the light police, but I hate when they're left on. Alex's excuse, "Moose is scared of the dark."   Really?! He's a dog!.....grrr
2. Dishes sitting in the sink for long periods of time. If you can put your dishes in the sink, how hard is it to rinse them off and put them in the dish washer? (This stems from college roommates. They thought we had a dish fairy.)

Alex:
1. When people stand in the middle of the isle(s) in stores, ie: Wal-Mart, Target, etc. Move, how hard is it to scoot out of the way??
2. When people take far too long to email me back. It's instant, shouldn't you instantly respond?

The Big 3-0

Not only is today Election Day, but it is also my sister's birthday!! She is the best 30 year old sister I've ever had and she's pretty fantastic too! As we have gotten older we've gotten very close and luckily Jared and Alex put up with us. She's my best friend. Someday I hope we can be next door neighbors like our mom and aunt and drink coffee  chai, raise kids, go shopping, scour pinterest for "original" ideas and do Zumba together.

I have an icing problem and the only time I get my icing fix is at Becky's house. We couldn't stand to let the left over icing go to waste, so she fed the icing to me- from the piping bag.

A more traditional, classy pose on vacation last summer. 

Happy Birthday Becky!!!

I love you.